Keetchy
Member
It's a 48x24x18. Even the 900 might be just too small. But I think I can make it work. I can't afford to get the 1200 🙁
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DIY LED floodlights any good???
- Thread starter Keetchy
- Start date
It's a 48x24x18. Even the 900 might be just too small. But I think I can make it work. I can't afford to get the 1200 🙁
Siege
Member
Personally I wouldn’t go with the 900E.
You are not gonna stretch the legs over the length. You’ll also struggle growing growing a carpet with depth.
If you want the Twinstar, better to delay and get the 1200SA. Better that than potentially waste your money now
Keetchy
Member
Ah serious? You don't think the 900 will reach the MC enough at that depth? With it not reaching over the tank's edges I can deal with. But if you dont think it'll be good enough for the MC at that depth then that's a different story.Personally I wouldn’t go with the 900E.
You are not gonna stretch the legs over the length. You’ll also struggle growing growing a carpet with depth.
If you want the Twinstar, better to delay and get the 1200SA. Better that than potentially waste your money now
Sammy I
Member
Save your money! Don't panic, why buy a new light at all? If things were growing well and now they are not then that indicates you need more ferts or co2 or both (most likely) rather than a more powerful light.
I would go back to dosing tnc complete, how much were you dosing daily? You can work out what you've been dosing using rotala butterfly under the premixed option. In 200L tank i would assume you should be dosing around 20ml a day to have a good level of ferts. I would try fix the deficiency rather than spend money on a more powerful light that would only accelerate any deficiencies or algae you have.
If you were adding 20ml a day then you would be dosing this much per week:
I would go back to dosing tnc complete, how much were you dosing daily? You can work out what you've been dosing using rotala butterfly under the premixed option. In 200L tank i would assume you should be dosing around 20ml a day to have a good level of ferts. I would try fix the deficiency rather than spend money on a more powerful light that would only accelerate any deficiencies or algae you have.
If you were adding 20ml a day then you would be dosing this much per week:
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Keetchy
Member
Ok I see your point. I cant remember how much TNC i was dosing now. I think i was dosing twice the amount it recommends on the bottle. Into a 300 litre tank.
I think I know why I'm getting BBA again. I increased the amount of phosphate into my Ei mix to help keep GSA away which I think in turn has helped the BBA.
So start off with dosing TNC complete again and then go from there?
At some point though I will need to get a better light as the one I have at the moment is ok but no way near powerful enough. It's only 2600lm
Sammy I
Member
I would get everything growing as you want it before upgrading the light, i know it's tempting to get something new but you will only have more problems with more light unless you correct the underlaying issue.
Forget the label instructions, they are mainly for people with low tech tanks or people entering the hobby rather than someone who's attempting a high tech aquascape full of plants which will demand a lot more nutrients than the standard tnc dose.
Were you dosing weekly or daily? You must have a rough idea how much tnc you were dosing and then we can evaluate from there by looking on rotala butterfly. I would be dosing daily.
The folks at aquarium gardens have always advised me to dose "tnc complete" to the levels/instructions of the "aquascaper complete" - i assume they are similar products, maybe even the same product just marketed differently (tnc complete for weekly "low tech" dosing, and aquascaper complete for "high tech" daily dosing.)
For your 300L tank i think that you should be dosing 25-30ml a day, you can work out what the total you would be adding easily if you want to target levels similar to EI.
Keetchy
Member
Ok now you mentioned that, I think i was dosing about 30ml per day TNC complete. Then i moved to 20ml per day Ei. The only reason I changed to Ei was to save money. But if it's going to be harder to get the correct amount of nutrients into the tank then I'm quite happy to start paying more and get TNC complete if I can get back to a healthy tank again.
So when dosing TNC, it was 30ml per day as is.
When dosing Ei I was mixing up the salts as per Aquarium Plant Foods website instructions and dosing 20ml per day. I then started getting a lot of GSA so I made up a new mix of Ei but doubled the amount of phosohate in the mix. But still dosing 20ml per day. GSA was no more but BBA is still appearing.
Sammy I
Member
Yes tnc will cost more money but if you have some left i would switch back to tnc and daily dose 25-30ml a day. Wait two weeks and see if your new growth is good, the old bits will not recover if it's an iron deficiency.
The APF recipe calls for 10ml per 50lt, how come you're only dosing 20ml for a 300L tank when the dose calls for a starting point of 60ml?
Also the BBA is mainly on your buce? Seeing as it's high up in the tank without any shading at all, means it's probably recieving too much light for the amount of ferts/co2 you are providing. I've never been able to grow buce up high as it just gets blasted with light.
Instead of buying a new light right now, i would wait and maybe spend a fraction of that on some more really fast growing stem plants. The more plants you have, the more likely it is you can blast them with better light as long as your flow, ferts and co2 is up to scratch.
Keetchy
Member
Holy crap.....60ml per day its supposed to be? Well maybe that's where I'm going wrong then, not ferting enough.
I'm away thr next couple of days so as soon as I'm back I will grab some TNC complete and maybe some Rotala H'ra from AG and get all that into play.
So you reckon monitor the tank for couple of weeks with dosing TNC before adding in any extra iron or upping the lights?
So the BBA is mainly on the Bolbitis. But it is also forming on the Buces and on the Staurogyne Repens at the bottom.
Going back to the LED light (which is likely significantly low light for such a deep tank, also the front to back footprint), any indication of number and type of LEDs?
If tank were only 35-40cm tall, substrate PAR would be a lesser factor but judging by the cost of the light units, I suspect it’s stocked with cheap low intensity 0.2w (maybe 0.3w) LEDs
I assume your travel plans have been delayed, so you’ve more time to sort out the tank before leaving for months?
If travel is still on, and you can afford the Twinstar, I’ve be tempted to upgrade the lighting
(you can lose a load of money through plant failure)
If tank were only 35-40cm tall, substrate PAR would be a lesser factor but judging by the cost of the light units, I suspect it’s stocked with cheap low intensity 0.2w (maybe 0.3w) LEDs
I assume your travel plans have been delayed, so you’ve more time to sort out the tank before leaving for months?
If travel is still on, and you can afford the Twinstar, I’ve be tempted to upgrade the lighting
(you can lose a load of money through plant failure)
Keetchy
Member
Right the only info I could find on the light is its 38w, 2470lm, 7000-7500k colour, IP44 (which I'm guessing is water resistant), 167 white LEDs, 30 blue, 14 red and 14 green.
Yeah the travel plans have been changed to a play it by ear situation now. So like you say, I wanna try and get all these problems eliminated or at least under control before I have to leave.
As for buying the light, even if the light I have now isnt causing the issues I'm getting, the plants are going to need a better light at some point for the tank to grow in as much as I want it to. I thought the 900ea would have been enough of a light for my tank but after reading @Siege comment, I need to rethink or chat to Dave about what light to get.
Jayefc1
Member
And just to add have you tried upping the ferts first as people have said 20ml in a 300ltr tank seems quiet low to me I add 20ml to my 140 dont know what your mix is obviously but still it's a easier way than forking out for new light especially if its not the real issue
No harm.in trying it for a couple of weeks mate
As for the ar mini do you have amanos they apparently love it as a salad
Oops sorry didnt see page 2 of this
No harm.in trying it for a couple of weeks mate
As for the ar mini do you have amanos they apparently love it as a salad
Oops sorry didnt see page 2 of this
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Jayefc1
Member
You could also wait and get the 900sa and hang it from the ceiling if you dont think it would fit properly.its very easy to do mark and you wouldnt
Need to.spent the extra on the 1200
Need to.spent the extra on the 1200
I’d take your time as mentioned by others. Get your ferts sorted out first and then go from there. Low light should slow down growth but not be putting holes in leaves. This indicates a fertiliser issue. Are the leaves new leaves which are getting holes or is it on the older leaves?
what brand of fert are you using for your iron dosing? I always used to get my plants start off well and eventually overtime they would deteriorate. Turns out I need to dose more magnesium than even ei due to my London tap water and change my source of iron as the iron glucanate used in my fertiliser is a waste of time in my hard water.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the algae issues. This can often happen in new set ups whilst things are balancing out. My tank was rescape recently, bba started to develop all over the place along with gda and diatoms. I just kept up the water changes and dosing. Once the plant mass had increased and was growing strongly this out competes the algae and now I’m pretty much algae free.
Try not to rush things or change too many things at once and I’m sure things will sort themselves out.
cheers
Conor
what brand of fert are you using for your iron dosing? I always used to get my plants start off well and eventually overtime they would deteriorate. Turns out I need to dose more magnesium than even ei due to my London tap water and change my source of iron as the iron glucanate used in my fertiliser is a waste of time in my hard water.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the algae issues. This can often happen in new set ups whilst things are balancing out. My tank was rescape recently, bba started to develop all over the place along with gda and diatoms. I just kept up the water changes and dosing. Once the plant mass had increased and was growing strongly this out competes the algae and now I’m pretty much algae free.
Try not to rush things or change too many things at once and I’m sure things will sort themselves out.
cheers
Conor
G
Guest
Guest
Sorry didn't read the thread properly before, got fixated on the DIY angle. Yes ideally you'll need a light that spans the entire length of the tank, so a 1200 would be best.
However that said, looking at the pics of your tank all seems to be growing well, so your current light seems to be doing a good job. And more importantly your CO2 flow and distribution look to be fine also.
However, as plants grow you need to keep upping your fertz. TNC Complete is good stuff but you'll need to ignore the dosing instructions. Once my tank has grown in I pretty much dose a whole weeks worth every day. That MC carpet will be very hungry...
I've since switched to TPN+ and find it to be just as good but a whole heap cheaper, I dose the same as I would the TNC. You can buy it here https://aquaplantscare.uk/shop/aquatic-plants-fertiliser/tpn-mix/
However that said, looking at the pics of your tank all seems to be growing well, so your current light seems to be doing a good job. And more importantly your CO2 flow and distribution look to be fine also.
However, as plants grow you need to keep upping your fertz. TNC Complete is good stuff but you'll need to ignore the dosing instructions. Once my tank has grown in I pretty much dose a whole weeks worth every day. That MC carpet will be very hungry...
I've since switched to TPN+ and find it to be just as good but a whole heap cheaper, I dose the same as I would the TNC. You can buy it here https://aquaplantscare.uk/shop/aquatic-plants-fertiliser/tpn-mix/
Keetchy
Member
Only issue with getting suspended version is we are in a rented flat so drilling holes in the ceiling is a no go area bud. Also to be honest I do prefer a light to be fixed to the tank rather than suspended. When I do eventually upgrade the light, I think I will go with the 1200. At least that way I have a very good light that I can use for a very long time without issues. I'm never gonna get a bigger tank than I have now.
And yes I have about a dozen amano bud. But the ARM hasn't got any holes or munch marks in it, it's the Ludwigia that has holy leaves. Lol.
So I've only noticed the holes on the older, lower down leaves. And at the moment I'm not ferting a separate iron supplement. I'm just dosing Ei. I think the conclusion is to just try one thing at a time. So ferts first then go from there.
Yeah after chatting to @Siege on the phone he has talked some sense into me and calmed me down a bit. Lol. It will be the 1200 I'll go with when I upgrade the lights. Only because I dont like suspended lights so that's the 900s out of the question.
It's good getting another point of view on the tank so if you say the growth looks good enough along with the C02 flow, then I'm happy with that.
To summarise guys, plan of action is to stop dosing Ei and start dosing TNC complete or TPN+ if that's gonna be cheaper but still as effective. Lol. Dose the amount I need to daily (but not by the bottle's recommendations). Then once I got the algae and colour all back under control, think about upgrading the light
Jayefc1
Member
Sounds like a good plan mate the S range is a lot better than the E the range on the twinstar
Keetchy
Member
Wish me luck 🙂😀
Jayefc1
Member
Dont need luck mate it's all skill lol
Aqua sobriquet
Member
I’ve just wired up one of these to see what it looks like.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07T8LZV9F/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Perhaps not quite as cool white as I’d like but I’m sure it will be more than bright enough for the 60L Nano I have in mind. Just a matter of working out a suitable way of mounting it over the tank.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07T8LZV9F/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Perhaps not quite as cool white as I’d like but I’m sure it will be more than bright enough for the 60L Nano I have in mind. Just a matter of working out a suitable way of mounting it over the tank.
